


Where the Water Meets the Sky

by guyi (orphan_account)



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Human luke, M/M, Merman Calum, i cried, idk theres not much more, merman au, surfer Ashton, this is a mermaid au, u might cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5799979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/guyi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Calum looks down at where their fingers are interlocked and then back up at Luke. He wears a smile on his face and his eyes glisten in the sun. His hair is wet and it’s dripping down the sides of his face. Calum loves this, loves seeing Luke in all of his natural beauty in the sun. Loves spending time with him even though he shouldn’t. He loves every second of it, up until the minute he has to go back underwater.</p>
<p>or, Calum is a merman and Luke is a human. They fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where the Water Meets the Sky

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inho/gifts).



> okay basically on tumblr an anon asked me if i could write this: _merman!calum always seems luke walking by the beach sometimes alone and sometimes with his guitar, calum starts leaving pretty things for Luke on the beach and in return Luke plays calum songs he never would have hear under the sea :)_
> 
> and i was really inspired and this was supposed to be like... 1k words but i got carried away and very invested
> 
> dedicated to astrid because she is the greatest cake stan to live and she loves this concept just as much as i do

 

There’s this ritual that every merperson goes through when they turn 18, and it’s long and boring but at the end of it you get to see the surface for the first time.

A year has passed since Calum’s Rising, which is what everyone calls it, and to this day, Calum still doesn’t like going to the surface.

It’s not often he visits, but when he does, Calum only surfaces at the most remote place on the coast, one where he can frolic around in the water peacefully, where no humans are there to gawk at him.

Calum’s not fond of humans, doesn’t think they’re as fascinating as they think they are, with their unimpressive tailless bodies and their inferior swimming skills. Doesn’t like how they treat his friends like they’re animals and objects, asking to touch their tails and questioning them about things that merpeople find degrading. He thinks humans are too full of themselves, and he doesn’t like a single bit of it.

Which is exactly why Calum’s chosen this specific spot, because no humans ever go this rocky beach. It’s not what merpeople call a tourist attraction, which basically means that no human ever desires to go to it. It’s human free and very tranquil.

But today, when Calum swims to the surface to find someone teetering on the rocks with some wooden thing in his hand, it’s ridiculously frightening. He rushes to hide behind the rocks but the human sees him anyway, sees the little gleam of Calum’s silver tail in the water. And the human looks scared.

Calum stays behind the rock for what feels like ages, breathing heavily and contemplating on whether or not he should just swim back down and pretend that this has never happened and just find a new spot to lounge around in.

He almost does when a voice interrupts him.

“You can come out, I don’t bite,” the human says, and it makes Calum wonder if humans actually do bite other humans. seems a bit cannibalistic to Calum, but okay.

He’s not sure if he should trust this voice; he only got a glimpse of the human anyway, but it’s too late now, this human’s already seen Calum and his merman features.

He carefully swims out from behind the rock, trying to keep his tail as invisible as possible, and is greeted by a smiling blonde boy.

“I’m Luke,” the human says. “What's your name?”

Calum takes a second to take in the view of the human—Luke, his name is—and finds nothing but innocence and curiosity in his beautiful blue eyes, the same color as the little cove near Calum’s home, where the reflection of the sun shines through.

“Calum…” he says warily.

“That’s a nice name. Are you a merman?” Luke asks, looking through the water to Calum’s shining tail.   
Calum nods, and Luke lights up.

“That’s cool, I thought they didn’t come to these areas, though.”

“They don't, but I like it here," Calum says. “What is that in your hand?”

Luke looks down to the thing he’s holding and smiles, “Oh, this? it’s a guitar. I play it. Wanna hear?”

Calum nods again, this time with a small grin on his face, and Luke beams. He sits down on one of the rocks right across from Calum, and starts strumming the little stringy-things on the guitar, singing a human song Calum’s never heard of before but begins to love regardless.

“You’re good,” Calum comments, even though he has no idea what talented means in the way of guitar and how Luke plays it.

“Eh, I’m alright,” Luke shrugs. “Do you play anything?”

Calum gets puzzled, as though Luke _expects_ Calum to be able to make music with an instrument. He can’t.

“No?” Calum says as a response.

“Oh,” Luke says, looking disappointed. “I don’t know, I thought you guys have all these undersea instruments, like in _The Little Mermaid_.”

Calum doesn’t know what _The Little Mermaid_ is.

“What?”

“ _The Little Mermaid_ , like, all the instruments the fish play, and then the little lobster like, conducts them? Do you not know what it is?” Luke asks.

“No?” Calum says again.

“Oh, it’s a movie. And it’s like an animated thing on this mermaid and how she wants to be human because she likes this guy, and then she becomes hu—wait, I don’t wanna spoil it for you,” Luke says, stopping himself.

Calum finds this movie ridiculously misleading into the world of merpeople already.

“Well, how am I going to watch it? I live in the ocean and your fancy technological doodads don’t function when they’re exposed to water,” Calum asks.

“I can show you! I can download the movie to my phone and show you,” Luke says, lighting up again.

“I can only stay at the surface for an hour a day, the air gives me breathing problems,” Calum says sheepishly.

“That’s okay! We can watch it over two days, I’m sure you won’t forget anything,” Luke smiles. “I have to head back to my hotel, but I’ll see you tomorrow with _The Little Mermaid_. Same time?”

Calum nods, grinning. Luke waves goodbye and gets up, taking his guitar with him as he jumps around on the rocks with his legs before making it to solid ground and walking away. Calum is watching him take every step on his long limbs until Luke is out of sight and Calum dives back down.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

“You met a _human_?”

Michael, Calum’s best friend with a fiery red tail that he’s always changing the color of, looks astounded at Calum as they’re swimming along near the main town. Michael says he’s getting bored of the red, but Calum likes it and wants him to keep it that color.

“Yeah, his name is Luke,” Calum says to him. “And he plays the guitar.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s like, it’s this music making thing that has these long strings, and if you strum them they make sound. He’s really good, he was singing some human song to me,” Calum says.

“He _sang_ to you?”

“It was just the two of us! I was off in that rocky area and he was there too! I didn’t _intend_ to see him,” Calum exclaims, trying to reason with Michael on the whole thing.

Michael looks like he doesn’t believe Calum a single bit. Calum knows why, know’s that Michael’s also kind of upheld the whole _humans are ridiculous and I can’t believe they’re real thing_ , just like Calum has. Or like Calum had, because now he knows a human.

Michael turns into their tail store and Calum reluctantly follows, aware that Michael really wants to change his tail’s color again. He’s a little sad that Michael has already grown bored of the intense red he had that has faded to coral.

“What color are you gonna do this time around?” the mermaid at the front desk asks Michael. Michael knows all of the employees by name, since he’s there so often.

“I don’t know, I was thinking like a dark green, like seaweed,” Michael says, strolling up the aisles to look at the colors.

“You’ve barely had the red for a month,” Calum points out.

Michael scoffs, “So?” He picks up a seaweed green tint and observes it before putting it back on the shelf.

“So… I like that color. It looks good on you,” Calum pouts.

Michael winks at Calum and says, “Thank you babe, love you.”

“Please stop.”

“Oh right, forgot you’re in love with a _human_ ,” Michael whispers, clenching his teeth together and muttering into Calum’s ear.

Calum crosses his arms, “I’m not in love with him, we’re just friends.”

“You know you can’t, though, right? Like you _can’t_ ,” Michael says. And Calum does know.

Merpeople aren’t supposed to befriend humans. Human’s can’t be trusted. They’re compulsive and liars and they pretend to befriend merpeople just to make them out as objects to their friends. They’re dangerous. Every merperson knows this, they’re taught this in school and they have the idea drilled into their brains and most merpeople do stay away from humans, only surfacing out of their sight.

But now Calum’s gone and he’s trusted a human, he’s trusted a shirtless blonde boy with a charming smile and twinkling eyes and he knows he shouldn’t but he can’t help it.

“I know,” Calum sighs.

“Don’t go back there, you can’t, Calum. It’s not safe anymore,” Michael warns him.

Calum nods, but he knows he’s not going to listen.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

The next day, Calum pretends he needs to help his sister find an apartment for her to live in, so Michael doesn’t think he’s sneaking up to the surface to go see Luke again. (Calum’s pretty sure Michael knows anyway, but he didn’t say anything to stop Calum from going).

Calum swims up to the surface and only pokes the top of his head above the water, eyes meeting the sea. Luke is on the rocks, guitar resting on his legs and a small electronic device in his hand. His hair appears to be wet, which is kind of weird, because Calum’s hair never gets wet when he’s underwater. Just another weird human thing, Calum supposes.

Calum swims closer, making sure not to raise himself any more above the ocean.

Luke is so distracted by the little techno (that’s what Calum’s calling it) he doesn’t see Calum sneaking up on him until he jumps at the sound of his voice.

“Hello,” Calum says, raising his body so that the beginning of his chest begins to show.

“Ah!” Luke exclaims at Calum, putting a hand to his chest. “You scared me, I didn’t see you there.”

“What is in your hand?”

“This?” Luke asks, holding up the little techno. Calum nods solemnly. “It’s my iPhone. I downloaded _The Little Mermaid_ on here, ready to watch it?” Luke shifts his body as close as he can get to Calum so Calum can see.

Calum nods again and Luke hits the little triangle shape on his screen and turns his volume up the highest it can go. _The Little Mermaid_ begins with a triumphant sound and it takes Calum aback a bit.

Immediately, Calum disagrees with what the movie is portraying. Merpeople can’t talk to the sea creatures. Also, the sea creatures can’t talk at all. Totally unrealistic.

Luke hits the two vertical lines in the corner of his screen. “You look disgruntled. What’s wrong?”

Calum shakes his head, “Nothing. This thing is just completely inaccurate.”

“Already? We haven’t even gotten through five minutes of the movie,” Luke says in disbelief.

“What’s this thing called?” Calum asks.

“A movie, it’s entertainment for us,” Luke explains, and it confuses Calum even more.

“Inaccuracy is entertainment?” he says.

“No, we don’t think this is inaccurate, ‘cause, well, what do we have it to compare to? We don’t really have any history on merpeople,” Luke says to Calum.

Calum supposes Luke is right. Humans are oblivious to the existence of merfolk (for the most part, at least) and have no evidence they exist. How could they? Merpeople don’t interact with humans, no matter how much of the ocean they explore.

“Plus,” Luke continues, “this is entertainment ‘cause it’s like, it’s fun to watch. Little kids really like this stuff, they believe it all. Even the talking animals.”

Calum silently sighs a breath of relief. At least Luke is aware enough to know that sea creatures don’t speak. He looks to Luke, who’s looking back at him with the same intensity.

“Your eyes are very beautiful,” Calum tells Luke. He can see his cheeks turning red at the comment. “They are the same color as my cove at home.”

“Thank you,” Luke says. “In this movie, Ariel, the girl with red hair, she has a cove of stuff too. It’s filled with human objects, like forks.”

Calum’s not actually sure what a ‘forks’ is but he assumes it’s something interesting.

“What do you have in your cove?” Luke asks him. “Do you collect human things, like the stuff that falls at the bottom of the ocean?”

“Merpeople can’t survive at the bottom of the ocean; it’s too dark. We live on rocks and cliffs that naturally form,” Calum explains. “I don’t have anything in my cove, it’s just empty. I go there to relax.”

“That’s cool, sounds kind of like my basement at home,” Luke compares.

“What is a basement?”

“Oh,” Luke says, clearly getting ready to explain something to Calum again. “It’s the level under our homes. Like, we have a house on the ground, and below the ground is the basement.”

“Do you live in holes?” Calum asks, puzzled.

Luke laughs at this. He tilts his head back and claps his hands together, smiling. Calum thinks Luke looks beautiful when he laughs.

“No, they’re all neat and safe for us humans to live in,” Luke says, trying to calm himself down. He puts his hand on Calum’s shoulder, and Calum is instantly shocked by the coldness of his hand.

“Your hand is cold. Are you alright?” Calum says, taking Luke’s hand in his own and rubbing his hands over Luke’s.

“My hand’s not cold, it’s perfectly normal. Yours are very warm,” Luke says. “I suppose we have different body temperatures.”

“I suppose so.”

Calum lets go of Luke’s hand, but Luke reaches down and interlocks his fingers with Calum’s own. The cold sensation goes against Calum’s warm hand, but it’s a nice mix.

“Can I press play on the movie?”

“Sure.”

In the movie, Ariel, the girl, and the flounder (Calum forgets the name, already. He’s sure it’ll be mentioned again) are searching around shipwrecks looking for human objects. Calum can’t comprehend why; human objects are to be avoided at all costs. She keeps finding these things and stuffs them in her bag.

There’s also some sort of shark chase that happens. Calum’s especially bewildered at this part, because sharks and dolphins are forms of transportation. They are much faster than merpeople are.

Ariel’s father seems to dislike the amount of human things Ariel has, which is finally something that seems realistic. Ariel apparently misses some singing concert thing due to her quest to find human items. Luke pauses again.

“See, that was the kind of thing I thought you might play as an instrument,” Luke says, pointing to the screen.

“You thought I played shells? That’s not even possible,” Calum says, chuckling. Luke is turning red again.

“I didn’t know, your world is really different than mine,” Luke tries to explain.

Calum nods. “You can hit the little triangle again, we can finish.”

Calum’s breathing patterns are shifting slightly and Calum knows that his time above water is almost up, that soon he’s have to go back down so he doesn’t harm himself. He’s breathing much slower and the breaths he take are getting sparser.

Luke chuckles. “It’s called a play button.” He holds his phone out to Calum and moves his head slightly, motioning for Calum to press it.

Calum tentatively reaches out and touches the screen with his finger, and it begins going again. Calum is fascinated.

Ariel sings about the cove that Luke was talking about. Luke was right, there are so many human things in it. It scares Calum a little bit.

“Why does she have so many items?” Calum asks.

“She collects them. You know, like how people collect stamps and vintage stuff,” Luke says.

“I don’t know what either of those things are,” Calum says.

Luke chuckles. “You don’t need to.”

Ariel and Flounder (the fish is named after _itself_ , how creative) and the bird with the annoying voice are all watching a ship celebration. Calum realizes that this movie is portraying some world ridiculously old, because no one uses wooden ships anymore. They haven’t for centuries. Some okay-looking male is dancing on the ship with an animal Calum’s never seen before. He’s not even sure if it has eyes.

Suddenly there’s a storm out of nowhere, and the ship begins to sink. Calum gasps a little at this part and it affects his breathing pattern a little more. He closes his eyes for a quick second to control himself as best as he can. Luke doesn’t notice.

Calum’s on the edge of the timer when Ariel saves the prince from impending doom, bringing him to shore and singing some song. There’s a lot of singing in this movie.

“Luke, I have to go. Can we finish tomorrow?” Calum says between each breath he’s forcing himself to take.

Luke nods. “See you tomorrow, Cal.”

“Goodbye Luke.”

Calum immediately dives back down and can feel his chest readjusting as he does. He feels like he misses Luke a little bit.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

Michael’s over at Calum and his family’s house for a meal. His mother makes the best seaweed scallop salad Calum has ever had in his entire life, and anyone in their neighborhood can agree.

Calum really hopes Michael doesn’t bring up anything about how Calum’s been seeing a human. He most likely will, but Calum’s still hopeful.  

“Michael Clifford,” Mali says when she sees the boy. Michael’s tinted his tail again. It’s the green that Michael had picked up that day at the store. “Look at you.”

They hug, and when they part, Michael says, “I thought you were moving out.”

Calum mentally hits his head with his palm.

“Nope, staying right here for a while. Why, do you want me gone?” Mali asks, her shimmery silver tail reflecting off a bubble near them.

Michael turns to Calum with a suspicious look on his face. Calum flushes heavily, already looking guilty.

“No,” Michael says to Mali. “Want you to stick around for a long time.”

Mali ruffles Michael’s hair before swimming off to go help out their mother with the food.

“You’re such a liar, you totally went to see him today,” Michael hisses at Calum. “Calum, you know you’re not supposed to.”

“I know! I know, it’s not safe and humans can’t be trusted but he always looks so happy to see me. Today we watched a movie,” Calum says.

“What’s a movie?”

“It’s human entertainment. He’s showing me this one about merpeople and it’s really inaccurate, but he seems to like it anyway,” Calum says.

Michael frowns. “Do _you_ like it?”

Calum shrugs, furrowing his brows. He knows that Michael is expecting Calum to say no, he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t like anything the human is showing Calum, but in all honesty, Calum’s not really sure. He dislikes how unbelievably incorrect the whole movie is portraying his world, but he knows it’s all made up. The movie is meant as a form of pleasure, not a factual movie.

Now that Calum thinks about it, maybe he _does_ like the movie. He likes how Luke pauses it to explain things when Calum doesn’t understand what’s going on. He likes how Luke lets him hit play and touch his little techno, his iPhone.

(He likes Luke.)

“It’s too incorrect,” Calum says, trying to worm his way out of the question, but Michael’s not having it.

“No, do you _like_ it?”

Calum shrugs.

“Calum, you can’t keep doing this. It’s dangerous. We could be found out, _you_ could be found out. You have to tell him you can’t see him anymore,” Michael says. “It’s what’s best.”

“Maybe I don’t want what’s best,” Calum mutters.

“Cal?”

“Maybe I just want to see Luke, to talk to him and to hear all about the human world. I enjoy his company, Mike. It’s nice that he’s there,” Calum says.

Michael is fairly distressed at this point. He’s sighing too much and tugging at his hair and resting his face in his palms.

“Calum, you don’t understand. This is too risky, you seeing him. You’re beginning to love a _human_ , Cal,” Michael says. “You’re forgetting what’s right and what’s wrong.”

“Maybe I want to be wrong for once!” Calum says loudly, frustrated with Michael.

Mali appears in the room, looking at Calum with a concerned expression.

“Cal, you alright?”

“No, I need some time alone,” Calum says, pushing past Michael and leaving the house. He swims to his cove and sulks in silence. He tries to think of the song Luke sang to him the first day they met. He can’t remember the rhythm and punches the wall in anger.

He doesn’t visit Luke the next day.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

Michael tells Calum that this has to be the last time they see each other. It breaks Calum’s heart.

Luke is still at the shore like he always is, the same time and the same rock. He has his phone but no guitar with him, and he’s leaning back on his arm as he looks out into the distance. Calum is mesmerized by the sight of him, broad shoulders and bulging arms.

“Hello again,” Calum says. Luke turns his head to face Calum and immediately forms a warm smile.

“Where were you yesterday?”

(Being angry) “Family things.”

“Oh, like what?”

(Punching walls) “Like dinner and outings and stuff. I was with my best friend too. His name is Michael. He changes the color of his tail like, once every month. It’s kind of bad, some of his scales are starting to flake off.”

“That’s so neat! I didn’t know merpeople could do that. It’s kind of like how humans dye their hair,” Luke says. Calum doesn’t know what that means. “How was it?”

(I think I might love you). “It’s was pretty good, I suppose.”

“You ready to finish the film? I really hope we get it in, with your breathing stuff and whatnot,” Luke says, smiling as he jumps down from his rock so he can rest his feet in the water and show Calum. “I don’t want you to change your tail color,” Luke says, taking Calum’s hand. “I like it like that.”

Calum looks down at where their fingers are interlocked and then back up at Luke. He wears a smile on his face and his eyes glisten in the sun. His hair is wet and it’s dripping down the sides of his face. Calum loves this, loves seeing Luke in all of his natural beauty in the sun. Loves spending time with him even though he shouldn’t. He loves every second of it, up until the minute he has to go back underwater.

Calum nods and Luke lets him press the play button.

For some reason, Ariel is now in possession of a giant sculpture of Prince Eric, and it creeps Calum out a little bit. Her treasure cove seems a bit full with it in it. And suddenly King Triton is bursting in with his triton (these names are ridiculous) and sees Ariel, gets angry, and destroys everything. Seems about right for this kind of film.

“This is exactly why I do not keep anything in my cove,” Calum says, causing Luke to quickly pause the video to hear what Calum is saying.

“Are you scared a king is gonna come and destroy it?” Luke asks.

Calum rolls his eyes because he knows Luke knows Calum doesn’t mean it like that. “No, we don’t even have kings. We have merpeople-elected government officials, they keep everything in order. But, I just like having an open space. There’s nothing _to_ destroy.”

Luke grins at Calum and presses play.

“I wish I could visit your cove,” Luke says.

It’s a bit ironic when Luke says that, because at that time, Ariel is traveling to this sea witch (which don’t exist, by the way) because she wants to be apart of the world that isn’t her own.

“Maybe if you can find a land witch she could help you out with that,” Calum jokes, making Luke laugh.

“Those don’t even exist,” Luke says between hiccups.

“Neither do sea witches. We’re a very peaceful society,” Calum tells him.

“To be fair, I didn’t really think sea witches existed. It’d be cool if you could turn human, though. You know, if you wanted to,” Luke says.

This makes Calum think as he watches the movie. Does he want to turn human? If he turned human there would be no going back, no way to transform himself back into a merman if he disliked being a human. But Luke is a human and Calum can’t help himself, can’t help that he’s starting to love Luke even though he is a human and Calum is a merperson.

“Yeah, I guess,” Calum says.

Ariel, apparently, is desperate to see Prince Eric again, because she willingly gives up her voice (which makes Calum confused again—no merperson has the power to take voices and no merperson would ever give up their voice) so that she may gain legs for three days. She just has to get Eric to kiss her within that period, or she transforms back and becomes Ursula’s slave.

Calum supposes you can’t have everything easy in life.

“Do you like this movie, so far?” Luke asks. Calum nods, and for once, he can answer truthfully.

Luke rubs Calum’s hand with his thumb. “I like it too.”

They almost kiss, they really do. They turn to face each other and Luke can see it in Calum’s eyes and Calum can see it in Luke’s but they don’t, they just turn back to Luke’s little techno and continue watching.

Ariel swims up to the surface and wraps some kind of cloth around her to keep covered—with the help of that bird Calum hates—when that animal Calum’s never seen before shows up and starts yapping at Ariel.

And fate just so has it that Eric is following behind the weird yapping animal and sees Ariel. Which is good and all, but doesn’t Ariel need to kiss Eric? She could just grab him and kiss him now, Calum doesn’t know why she’s trying to impress him with no voice and a (probably dirty) cloth tied to her with rope. This movie is getting complex again.

Calum keeps focused though. He saw how much left of the movie they had and it’s enough time for Calum and Luke to finish it before Calum has to go back down.

Ariel gets all cleaned up after Eric brings her back to his castle and they eat dinner together. Ariel brushes her hair with some three-pronged silver item, which is apparently not its intended use, because Eric and his old servant don’t really understand what she’s doing.

And then they go out on dates and to what Calum assumes is the town square or something like it, and Ariel is excited because she’s never seen these types of things before (neither has Calum, but Luke doesn’t see him trying to touch everything within reach).

During this, Luke keeps pausing because Calum has no idea what the majority of these objects do, and he wants to explain.

“What are these animals?” Calum says, pointing to these big, majestic looking animals that stand on four legs.

“Those are horses. And that’s like, a horse-drawn carriage. It was a mode of transportation back in the day,” Luke explains to Calum.

“Oh, we ride dolphins and sharks,” Calum says. “They’re super efficient and we pay them in food.”

“That sounds so cool, I’d love to ride a dolphin,” Luke says.

“They are a lot of fun,” Calum says. “I wish I could show you.”

“Me too.”

Ariel and Eric almost kiss after the lobster tries conducting a song by using plants and voices as the background music, but it doesn’t work.

This movie is getting more hilarious by the minute when Sea Witch In Disguise shows up and hypnotizes Eric because she’s evil.

“Why did they have to add this part in? Surely the girl trying to get the boy within three days is enough of a struggle,” Calum asks Luke.

Luke shrugs in response, “Not sure. Guess they wanted to make things more complicated. That’s kind of what movies do, you know? You think everything’s gonna be okay and then it’s not.”

“That sounds unpleasant,” Calum remarks.

“It’s to keep people interested in the movie,” Luke tells him. “Otherwise they’d get bored.”

“Humans have a short attention span,” Calum says. “They cannot seem to stay focused for more than thirty minutes at a time.”

“Well, you’re right about that,” Luke says.

The movie continues and Calum begins to find himself looking less and less at the movie screen and more and more at Luke. At how his eyes focus on the screen as though he’s only watching this for the first time. At how his body so easily shifts so he can accompany Calum and hold his hand and tell him stories. At how his face lights up when Calum talks to him. At how Luke seems just as infatuated with Calum as Calum is with him.

“What’s happening here? I haven’t been paying attention,” Calum asks.

“Oh, um, Vanessa is gonna marry Eric because Eric thinks Vanessa is the girl who saved him, rather than Ariel. And like, the bird, Scuttle, he’s going to tell Ariel that this is happening and that Vanessa is Ursula in disguise,” Luke tells him, pointing to the individual character as he says their names. Calum’s pretty sure he’s missed half of the names Luke’s just said, but alright.

The wedding proceeds to take place with Ariel desperately trying to interrupt it, and then she manages to make it as all the sea creatures start attacking Vanessa. Calum’s only half-watching at this part, paying more attention as to how Luke is saying “ouch” and “yikes” quietly as the scene in front of him takes place.

Eventually Ariel manages to get her voice back and Prince Eric almost kisses her, but the sun sets before he can. Which leads Vanessa to turn back into the sea witch and take Ariel with her, diving into the sea. King Triton is there to stop the Sea Witch, but he can’t because the deal they made cannot be broken. He decides to take Ariel’s place as the Sea Witch’s slave, for some reason.

Calum is starting to notice the change in his breathing patterns as he always does, but this movie’s only a few more minutes long and he has to make it.

There’s this huge dramatic fight scene that happens, where the Sea Witch grows to be the size of Calum’s town and she uses her newly gained triton to make all these horrible things start to happen, until Eric stabs her in the stomach with a ship.

“Is something else going to happen? To keep humans interested?” Calum asks curiously, unsure if the movie has finally reached its peaceful ending or not.

“Nothing major,” Luke tells him. “Humans also dislike when a plot line becomes too complex and repetitive.”

“Oh, okay.”

The movie ends with Ariel turning human at her father’s blessing and rejoining Eric on land, with the two of them getting married. Seems like a pretty decent wedding. Very different from a merperson’s wedding, though.

“Can merpeople turn human? Like, in general?” Luke asks Calum as the movie ends.

“Not on their own,” Calum says back, trying to focus in on the breaths he’s taking.

“Do they need like, potions and stuff? Like Ariel?” Luke says.

Calum shakes his head, “No. They just—”

His breath hitches. Calum has to wave goodbye and Luke immediately understands, nodding as Calum sinks underwater.

He gasps, gaining back his breath. He was unable to tell Luke how merpeople turn human and Calum is a little bit glad about it.

Merpeople can only turn human if they kiss one.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

Something’s not right and Calum knows it. He can’t help himself, now he aches to go above land and see Luke and spend more than just a measly little hour with him and it’s getting dangerous. Calum knows that he’s starting to fall in love with Luke and he can only hope that Luke won’t love him back because it’ll make everything easier.

But Luke probably is starting to love Calum and he doesn’t know what to do.

He swims to Michael’s place.

“Hey, Cal, what’s up?” Michael says as he opens the door to find Calum waiting behind it.

“Um, can we talk?” Calum asks, his hand going to the back of his neck.

Michael sighs. “Is this about Luke?”

Calum smiles guiltily and Michael lets him inside.

“We finished watching _The Little Mermaid_. It was alright, I guess I kind of liked it,” Calum says.

“Do you love him?” Michael asks.

Calum breathes heavily, “I—not yet. But I’m starting to.”

“Cal…”

“I know, Michael. I know this can’t happen because we can’t be together unless we kiss and I’m not sure if I want us to kiss or not because I want to spend more time with him but I can’t leave you. I _can’t_ ,” Calum says, going to grasp at his hair. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Can—can I meet him? This Luke, can I meet him? Next time you go up, bring me with you. Just for a few minutes,” Michael says quietly.

Calum nods.

“Mike, I’m not sure anymore. I’m not sure if I should just stop going or if I should and what if I do fall in love? And what if he falls in love with me, what am I supposed to do then?”

“I’m not gonna say some ridiculous thing like ‘Oh you should follow your heart’ because that’s not how this works. I want you to stay. Your family wants you to stay. I don’t want you to go off with some human and never see us again,” Michael tells him, his voice cracking.

“That’s the thing, Mike, he’s not just _some human_. He’s so beautiful and kind and friendly and he treats me like I’m not some mythical creature he’s never seen before. He tells me stories of what it’s like on land and tells me everything different about his world and I tell him ours and he holds my hand and I’m starting to love him,” Calum says.

“Do you want to spend more time with him?”

“I do, Mike, I really do. He means so much to me,” Calum tells him, and he can see the words breaking Michael’s heart as they leave his mouth.

“Does your family know?”

“No,” Calum says.

“Tell them. Tell Mali first, have her convey the message to your parents. Take me with you next time you surface. Please,” Michael says.

Calum nods and swims to the door. Michael opens it for him and he almost leaves. They wrap their arms around each other and hold them tightly.

“I’ll miss you if you go,” Michael whispers.

Calum’s crying all the way home.

Mali’s in her room doing her hair when Calum knocks on the door, opening it slightly.

“Cal? Is that you?” Mali asks, not taking her eyes off of the mirror in front of her.

“Yeah,” Calum says, hiccuping a little bit.

She turns to face him and he has his head down, looking at the floor.

“Have you been crying?”

Calum shakes his head, but Mali can see right through him. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m starting to love someone,” Calum mutters.

“Oh no, what’s happened? Do they not love you back?” Mali asks, patting her bed so Calum and her.

“I think they do,” Calum says.

“Then what’s wrong? Surely you want them to love you back,” Mali says, confused.

“He’s a human, Mali,” Calum whispers. Maybe if he says it too quietly Mali won’t hear him. But she does anyway, and she gasps.

“A _human_? Cal, how did this happen?” Mali rubs Calum’s back.

Calum chokes up the story, how he didn’t mean to meet Luke but how Luke treated Calum like he was a normal person and not an animal. And how they watched a movie together over a period of two days and Calum enjoyed every second of it. And how they would talk and talk about their worlds and how Luke held his hand and Calum held his and how right it felt.

“Cal, you—you _can’t_ , Cal. I can’t let you go,” Mali says, and at this point the both of them are crying, sat on Mali’s bed. “You belong here.”

“I’m not so sure that I do,” Calum confesses, and it makes Mali sob.

“Do Mom and Dad know?”

Calum shakes his head, too emotional to say anything.

“Oh Cal, you have to tell them. Even if you do go, even if you leave to be with him, they deserve to know why,” Mali tells him.

“I can’t face them, Mali. I can’t look them in the eyes and tell them I’m falling in love with a human that possesses no magical abilities, other than the power to make me love him,” Calum says, distraught.

“What’s his name?”

“Luke,” Calum says.

“I’ll tell them,” Mali says. “I’ll tell Mom and Dad. But you have to say goodbye if you’re going. You can’t just leave them,” she says firmly. “You can’t just leave us.”

Calum nods. Mali knows he means it.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

The next day, before he rises, Calum stops by Michael’s place. Michael’s there, waiting for him.

(He looks like he’s been crying.)

“Ready to go?” Calum asks, ignoring Michael’s mildly distressed and vacant expression.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Michael says, swimming out and closing the door behind him.

They surface and Luke is there as always. He sees Calum and waves. They move closer and Michael is wary, much like how Calum was when he first saw Luke. He stays away and behind Calum.

“I’m Luke,” Luke says, holding out his hand to Michael. Michael doesn’t budge. Luke coughs, taking his hand back. “What’s your name?”

“Michael,” Michael says quickly and shortly.

“Oh! Calum told me about you. You’re the one that changes their tail color, right? I thought that was super cool. Humans change their hair color, you know, if they want to. What color is it now?”

“Green,” Michael says.

“What kind of green?”

“Seaweed green.”

“Oh, that’s really nice. I love Calum’s tail color, though, and how the silver shines through the water,” Luke says. Calum is smiling softly at his tail. “How do you change your tail color? Do you dye it?”

“We tint it,” Michael says curtly.

“That sounds like fun.”

“Michael needs to stop doing it for a while, some of his scales are starting to flake off,” Calum says, earning a laugh from Luke and a pout and a light punch from Michael.

“Shut up, no they’re not. Besides, I like this one,” Michael says, crossing his arms.

“That’s what you said about the blue. And the pink. And the red,” Calum frowns.

“Wow, how many times have you dyed—sorry—tinted your tail?” Luke looks impressed.

“Too many. His tail used to be just a light orange, before he started getting into the whole tinting process,” Calum says.

“Have you ever dyed your hair, Luke?” Michael asks.

Luke’s hand flies to his head and he holds out a strand. “Nope, this is my naked color.”

“You should keep it like that,” Calum says. “I like it like that.”

Luke turns red and flushes, and Calum can’t help but smile at the thought that his words made him that way.

“How long have you guys known each other?” Luke asks.

“Ages, maybe like, ten years? Probably more,” Calum asks, and Michael shrugs. His guess is probably as good as Calum’s.

“Wow, that’s really long. No wonder you guys are such good friends,” Luke says. “I’ve only known my best friend Ashton for about four.”

“Cal, I have to go back,” Michael says. “Goodbye, Luke. Maybe we will meet again sometime.”

With that, Michael is diving underwater again, leaving Luke and Calum alone.

“Does Michael like me?” Luke immediately asks.

Calum shrugs, unsure of whether or not the fact that Calum has unintentionally fallen in love with Luke has any effect on Michael’s opinion of him. “I don’t know. He seems like he does.”

“He seemed a little bit ticked off with me,” Luke admits.

Calum shakes his head, “No, he’s probably just wary. Merpeople don’t generally interact with humans like it’s normal.”

“Oh. Should you not be here?”

Calum doesn’t respond. He doesn’t want to tell Luke that merpeople and humans don’t have the greatest relationship. Doesn’t want to say that he shouldn’t be doing this, that this is dangerous and risky. Doesn’t want Luke to think that what they’re doing is wrong.

“What’s a fork?” Calum changes the topic, not answering Luke’s previous question.

Luke laughs. “It’s a utensil. We use it to eat.”

“Oh, not to brush your hair?”

Luke laughs again. “No, not for that? We use brushes.”

“What a creative name,” Calum comments, which sends Luke into hysterics.

“Well, what do you call yours?”

“We use shells. They comb through our hair,” Calum tries to explain.

“ _Shells_? How does that work?” Luke asks.

“They have little bumps at the edges of them. We usually manufacture them, though,” Calum says. “I could maybe steal one from my sister and show you sometime.”

“I’d love that.”

They continue talking about their differences. Luke asks what keeps merpeople entertained if they don’t have any electronic devices or books, and Calum explains that merpeople find great enjoyment in other merpeople, rather than in solo items. Calum wants to know how houses are laid out in the human world, and Luke explains to Calum that they’re usually made out of wood and bricks and are divided into rooms. Calum tells him that their homes also have rooms, only their houses are made of coral and rocks.

“Do all humans have those small little technological things?” Calum asks, pointing at the thing in Luke’s hand, the one they watched _The Little Mermaid_ on.

“My phone? Well, yeah, most of us. We use them to communicate, our society is a little bit dependent on them. How do you guys communicate?”

“We _talk_ ,” Calum says as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “We don’t really move around much, normally stay in one place. It’s kind of hard to talk with other merpeople if they live all around the ocean.”

Luke chuckles. “I guess that makes sense.”

There’s a voice calling Luke’s name.

“Luke? Where are you?”

“It’s my friend Ashton,” Luke whispers to Calum. “Quick, hide if you don’t want him to see you.”

Calum does as he’s told and swims to a nearby rock, sinking down into the ocean but still in earshot of Luke. The voice gets closer.

“Luke, why do you always come here? It’s so boring,” the voice asks him.

“It’s peaceful here,” Luke says. “I like it. No other people to come and scream.”

“I just finished surfing, wanna go back to the hotel? We have to pack,” the voice suggests.

“Oh, right. I forgot. Um, I’ll catch up with you in five minutes, just wanna spend a little more time here,” Luke says, sounding much more deflated.

Calum’s not sure what ‘pack’ means but judging by the sound of Luke’s voice, it’s not something good.

“Okay, see you at the room. Don’t come dripping in, and wash off your feet. Last time you walked in you got dirt and sand all over the carpet. Made such a mess for the poor hotel maids,” the voice says.

Calum waits for Luke to say he can emerge from his hiding spot.

“Okay, he’s gone. You can come out now, Cal,” Luke says, his voice soothing.

Calum tentatively shows himself, and Luke looks much sadder than he did before.

“What’s wrong, Luke? Is something the matter?” Calum asks, reaching his hand out to hold Luke’s. His touch melts into Calum’s.

“I have to pack,” Luke says, defeated.

“What does that mean?”

“Cal…” Luke says, smiling sadly. “I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“What do you mean you’re ‘leaving tomorrow’? Do you not live here?” Calum asks, his heart beginning to shake.

Luke shakes his head as a tear rolls down his cheek. “No, I live in Sydney, which is 8 hours away from here, in Melbourne. I’m only here on vacation.”

“You mean—you mean you’re only visiting? You can’t come back?” Calum says, voice trembling. “You can’t _stay_?”

“It’s too far,” Luke admits.

Calum doesn’t know what to say anymore. He doesn’t know how he could grow to love someone that’s not even staying, how all his feelings are just temporary because Luke isn’t permanent. He’s just a visitor, just making a stop in Calum’s life before he’s off again, before Calum never gets to see him for the rest of his life. He’s just a passing figure in Calum’s world but he’s touched his heart and Calum doesn’t know what he’s going to do with himself if he lets Luke go. He _can’t_.

Luke is tearing up on the rocks, and Calum watches as the tears fall from his eyes and land on the wet rocks and in the ocean in front of him.

“You’re _leaving_ ? After all of this?” Calum asks. “After _us_?”

“I’m sorry, Cal. I didn’t know this was going to happen,” Luke says. “I didn’t know I would love you.”

Calum is about to say something else when Luke gets up and turns around. He starts walking amongst the rocks, headed to the flat ground.

“Luke, _please_ ,” Calum says weakly, causing Luke to turn around. Luke looks helpless, and it breaks Calum even more. “Please don’t leave me. Please don’t go. _Stay_.”

Luke begins shaking his head, the movement getting more frantic with each turn. “I can’t, Calum. I have to.”

“Luke,” Calum says, reaching out for him. Luke pulls away from Calum’s grasp. “Please stay here. Please stay with me. You can’t—you can’t just go. _I love you_.”

Luke turns back to face Calum one more time. His eyes are swelling with tears that are altering the beautiful cerulean blue they normally are. He looks devastated. He looks broken. “I’m leaving at eight tomorrow morning. Say goodbye to me then.”

Luke is gone without another word. Calum watches as he leaves his sight, his back heaving. His breath is hitching and it’s not because he’s running out of surface time.

Calum dives below the water, hoping it will conceal the tear streaks down his face.

**& &&&&&&&**

He stays in his room for the rest of the day and all throughout the night. Michael drops by, but isn’t able to coax Calum out of his room.

“What happened?” Michael asks.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Calum says.

“Cal, what’s wrong? You have to tell me,” Michael says.

There’s no response, for Calum doesn’t give him one.

“I’m coming in.”

Calum tries to swim to his door to stop Michael but Michael’s already opened it, barging in.

“What’s going on, Cal?” Michael asks. “What’s happened?”

“He’s _leaving me_ , Michael! He’s leaving,” Calum cries, shouting at Michael.

“Woah woah, what? What do you mean?”

“He was—he was only here for a trip. He’s leaving tomorrow and I’m never going to see him again,” Calum says, as Michael rubs his shoulders, trying to calm him down.

“He’s not staying?”

“He can’t,” Calum says, breathing rapidly. “He can’t stay and I love him and he loves me and he can’t stay.”

“You love him?”

Calum nods, his lips puffy and his eyes swollen. “I really do, Mike. I love him so much and he loves me too, but he’s leaving.”

“Kiss him.”

“What?” Calum asks, looking up from where his gaze was and looking Michael in the eyes. He’s serious and solemn, holding Calum tightly by the shoulders.

“Kiss. Him.”

“Mike…I can’t. I can’t—I can’t leave you here,” Calum says, sadly.

“Calum, I know you better than I know anyone else. It’s obvious you’re head over tails in love with him. Kiss him. Become human and stay with him,” Michael says. Calum knows he’s on the verge of crying too, the way his voice shakes on the last word.

“I’m not going to leave you here. I won’t, Michael. You can’t make me,” Calum says firmly.

“When is he leaving?”

“Eight tomorrow morning,” Calum whispers.

Michael takes a glance at the clock on Calum’s wall. “You have sixteen hours until he’s gone for good. I’m going to leave and let you decide what to do.” He begins heading back towards the door and Calum follows him.

“Michael…”

Michael turns around a last time and envelops Calum in the biggest hug he’s ever received.

“If you do, I’m going to miss you, Cal. I’ll never forget about you, no matter if you forget about me.”

Michael leaves with that last word and shuts the door behind him. Calum sinks the floor.

He’s not going to kiss Luke. He’s not going to leave his entire life behind because he loves Luke, he’s not like Ariel. He’ll let Luke go and he’ll deal with the pain that subsides. He’ll deal with it. He won’t let Luke change his life more than he already has.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

It’s seven fifty-nine when Calum wakes the next morning. A part of him doesn’t care, glad that he’s woken up so late, so maybe he’ll fall asleep again. But a larger part of him immediately stresses out, and Calum is fumbling out of bed and out the door, trying to swim the surface before it’s too late.

Before Luke is gone and merely becomes a memory, a part of Calum’s life that he’ll never experience again.

Calum can’t miss him, his heart is shaking and trembling and he’s having trouble breathing and he can’t do this, he can’t let Luke leave without saying goodbye. He has to touch him one more time, has to hold his hand and take in his scent and see his eyes. Just one more time.

Calum makes it to the surface as fast as he can, popping up and frantically looking for Luke amongst the rocks. He’s not here.

The big clock in the distance reads 8:03. Luke is gone.

Calum doesn’t know what to make of himself. He finds himself crying before he can stop it, feeling the tears well up in his eyes and fall down his cheeks into the water below him, making little splashy sounds as they do. He’s gone.

Maybe, Calum hopes, Luke is running late, and if Calum stays a little longer he’ll be there. Maybe Luke’s accidentally forgotten something and is coming back to get it. Maybe his trip home was delayed or cancelled, and maybe he’s still here.

Calum debates on whether or not to stay and wait, or to just dive back down, cry, and then carry on with his life. Either option would have the same amount of disappointment and heartbreak, because Calum knows in his heart that Luke is gone and he’s not coming back.

He knows his chance with the beautiful human with shining eyes and a warm laugh is over.

Still, he’s hopeful that his heart is wrong, that Luke isn’t gone and Calum can see him one more time. Calum can know the last words he says to Luke aren’t “I love you”.

Calum swims closer to shore. Maybe he’ll see Luke leaving or something.

Instead he finds a note written on a hotel notepad, scribbled in blue pen.

_I know you’re not here. I left with Ash earlier than I told you because I didn’t want to face you again. I’m sorry. I promise I won’t forget you._

There’s no signature and no person the note’s been addressed to but Calum knows it’s Luke and Calum knows it’s meant for him.

The worst part about the note is that it lacks the one thing Calum hoped Luke would have included. There’s no sign of love, no evidence Luke even loved Calum in the first place, even though Calum knows that Luke did.

It’s not the goodbye Calum was waiting for. It’s not the lasting memory Calum wanted.

Angry, mostly at himself but a little bit at Luke as well, he tears up the note in his hands, watching how his wet fingers stain the paper and smudge the ink. He lets the shreds go and they fly off into the wind, lost forever.

Much like how Luke is.

Calum then proceeds to break down into tears as he submerges himself, too tired and broken to look at the place where Luke once held Calum’s hand any longer.

He returns home and finds Michael waiting outside his house. He’s happy to see his friend but once he sees how beaten Calum appears, he’s not happy anymore.

“What happened?” Michael asks.

“I missed him,” Calum says, in a tone that’s not sad or broken but just emotionless. His tears have disappeared and his eyes are only tired from how little he slept last night.

“You did?” Michael asks. Calum opens the door to his home as Michael waits outside, looking at him.

“He’s gone.”

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

Michael and Mali both tell Calum that he shouldn’t go back there, but he does.

He surfaces at the same time he always did when Luke was around and waits for as long as he can before he comes back down, hopeful that Luke might return (even though he won’t and Calum knows it) and watching as the memories of him and Luke by the rocks replay in his mind.

Calum misses Luke. He missed having him to talk to and tell him all about the human world, he misses someone to hold his hand and feel the contrast of their body heat against each other. He misses how Luke would always treat Calum like a person, like someone with feelings.

At most, Calum’s a shell of his former self. He doesn’t act like he used to and he knows that as time passes he will come back to who he used to be before Luke came along and left him, he’ll become the bubbly and talkative boy his family and his friends used to know. But he lacks the emotions he once had, he tries to be excited but everything is so tiring, so draining.

Calum’s hope that Luke will return fades with each day that he’s not there when Calum rises, and when a week has past since Luke left Calum heartbroken and wrecked, Calum doesn’t even visit the rocky little beach because he wants to see Luke again, he visits because it’s calm and quiet and just like it was before: humanless. Calum re-gathers his thoughts as he wades around in the water, thinking of how he used to love coming to this spot every day.

Sometimes, if he’s feeling a little nostalgic, he’ll reminisce and watch a memory of him and Luke play out in front of him as though Luke is still there, still real and not just a vision in his mind.

He’ll smile sadly to himself as the memory fades away, thinking of Luke as he usually does. Thinking of how he lost his chance at staying with the only boy he’s ever loved.

By the fall, Calum no longer thinks of Luke as the boy who broke his heart, but as a part of his life that will slowly wane into nothing. Michael often accompanies Calum to the surface nowadays, because as the weather gets colder less humans are there along the coast, meaning Michael and Calum don’t have to worry.

It’s been months since Luke was there. There’s nothing left for Calum to wait for.

Calum is coming back. The real Calum, the one that was there before Luke, is emerging and Calum feels like he’s getting himself back, like he not only lost Luke but he lost his personality as well.

“What color should I do now?” Michael asks.

They’re in the tail store again. The seaweed green has faded dramatically, since Michael kept the color for much longer than the usual month he does. Calum is with him, as he always is when Michael picks out a tint, and the two of them are browsing through the colors. Just like old times.

“Do a blue,” Calum says. “You haven’t done that for a while.”

Michael agrees, grabbing Calum’s wrist and dragging him to where all the blues are. Calum notices that the store seems to have expanded the selection.

“Did you get more blues?” Calum asks, turning to the mermaid at the desk.

“Yep, got ‘em in early this season,” she replies.

“What do you think of this one?”

Calum turns back around and sees Michael holding up a blue that’s so dark Calum almost thinks it’s black, until he sees the it shine in the light and realizes it’s just a ridiculously pigmented blue.

“I think people are going to think that’s black. I just did,” Calum says.

“Ugh, okay.” Michael fishes (ha) through all the different tints, holding up different bottles and observing their colors and the backs of the bottles, reading through the ingredients. Calum is watching intently at the shades Michael is picking up, telling him a “maybe” or a “no”, depending on how he feels about the color.

Calum isn’t paying attention when Michael hits him in the shoulder to show him another color. Calum looks towards the bottle and his breath catches in his throat.

It’s the color of Luke’s eyes, the color of his little cove near his house. It’s the color Calum was trying so hard to avoid these past few months.

“What about this one?”

“I like it,” the mermaid at the front pipes up. “Matches well with the sea. It’ll be good for the winter.”

“I like it too,” Calum says, looking down and rubbing his arm with his hand. “It’s the color of my cove.”

He’s trying not to bring up Luke, but he can’t help it.

“It’s the color of Luke’s eyes,” he mutters, barely loud enough for Michael to hear.

“Oh, no, Cal, I’m sorry,” Michael says, looking at his best friend before looking at the bottle in his hand. “I won’t do it.”

He’s beginning to put the bottle back where he found it when Calum stops him.

“No, do it. It’s okay. He’s not coming back and I’ve long accepted it. It’ll look nice on you,” Calum says, grabbing Michael’s arm and letting him take the tint back.

“You sure?”

Calum nods, and he thinks that this is the moment when the real Calum is back.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

It’s winter in the human world.

Where Calum is, the temperature of the water is the same as it always is.

Normally, merpeople never travel to the surface when it’s the cold season, because they can’t adjust to the cold. But Calum’s been going every single day for almost seven months now, and he’s not going to stop just because it’s a little bit colder than it normally is.

Michael doesn’t accompany Calum during this season. He says it’s too chilly for his weak merman body, which makes Calum laugh. He supposes that since he’s visited daily, it’s really not much of a difference.

Calum surfaces. There’s a human on the rocks. With a guitar. A human Calum is too ridiculously familiar with.

Calum immediately sinks back down, hoping that Luke hasn’t seen him. He doesn’t hear his name being called, so he doesn’t think he has. Calum’s taking heavy breaths.

He’s not sure if he should surface or just leave and never come back, but his curiosity and the fact that he just hasn’t seen Luke in so long draws him back.

Calum is just below the surface and he hears Luke playing his guitar and singing.

“Hello.”

Luke jumps at his voice and almost falls backwards on the rock.

“Hi, Calum,” Luke says, resisting a smile Calum knows is bound to come.

“You came back.”

“That I did. I’m sorry.”

“I missed you,” Calum says as Luke gets down to sit amongst the shallow water that hits the rocks and the rough ground.

“I missed you too. I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Luke admits.

“Me neither.”

Luke opens his arms and Calum gladly falls in them, hugging him tightly. Luke isn’t shirtless; it’s too cold to be shirtless but he’s wearing a short sleeved shirt and Calum relishes in the softness of Luke’s skin.

“I’m here for another week, Cal,” Luke says. “Then I gotta go home again.”

“That’s okay,” Calum says.

A week is all he needs.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

“He’s _back_?”

“He is, Mike,” Calum says to Michael as they swim along through the center of town, where most of the merpeople spend their time.

“Calum, I can’t believe it,” Michael says. This time he’s smiling when Calum brings news of Luke.

“I know, Mike. I can’t believe he’s here,” Calum says, sighing happily. “I love him so much, I always have, Mike.”

“I know, Cal. I know you do. I think this time it’s alright if you leave us. I think this time you’re ready,” Michael says sadly.

“Mike, you really think so?” Calum asks, expression soft.

Michael nods. “I really do.”

“Not yet,” Calum says. “I’m not going to leave you just yet.”

Mali’s a little wary when she finds out Luke is back. She’s cautious, she doesn’t want Calum to be heartbroken again. She doesn’t want to see her brother like that for the next six months.

“Are you sure it’s okay, Cal?” Mali asks. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“I am,” Calum says. “You can meet him, if you want. He’s nice. He’ll like you.”

Mali nods and smiles.

Calum thinks he’s finally doing this right.

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

Luke is there, just like he used to be, when Calum surfaces. Mali is with him, rising above the water unphased and strong like she always is.

“Hello again, Luke,” Calum says. “This is Mali. She’s my sister.”

Mali waves hello and when Luke holds out his hand and introduces himself, Mali shakes it firmly.

“Nice to meet you, Mali,” Luke says.

“You too, Luke. Calum’s told me a lot about you. Heard you guys had quite the wild ride back in February,” Mali says. Luke turns red, something that Calum doesn’t realize he’s missed so much until now.

“We did,” Luke says.

“Mali’s here to make sure you’re a suitable human for me,” Calum says, causing Mali to nudge him slightly with her elbow.

“I hope I make the right first impression,” Luke says.

“You’re impressing me so far, Luke, but don’t push it,” Mali warns, smiling.

“Yes, ma’am,” Luke says.

Luke and Mali hit it off, as Mali asks Luke all the questions Calum once asked him himself. She still maintains the protective older sister attitude and Calum doesn’t speak for the entire thing because Mali shushes him every time he tries to join in.

Thirty minutes in and Mali decides that Luke has impressed her enough. She pats Calum on the shoulder, gives Luke an unyielding handshake and dives below.

“Her tail is just like yours,” Luke says.

“Well… yeah, we’re siblings,” Calum says, confused as to why Luke is so awestruck because of that.

“That’s cool, I didn’t know all mersiblings had the same tail color. Thought everyone has a different tail color,” Luke says.

“No, it’s really rare to have a different tail than your sibling,” Calum explains.

They sit in silence for the next few minutes, both watching the waves as they crash against the rocks the shore, and each other.

“Did you mean it?” Luke asks.

“Did I mean what?”

“Did you mean it when you said you loved me?” Luke says.

“Yes,” Calum says, turning to face Luke. “I meant it then, and I meant it all during the time while you were gone, and I still mean it now.”

“You still love me?”

“I love you like the moon loves the waves,” Calum says.

“I love you too, Calum,” Luke says back.

Calum can see Luke, he can see how Luke is leaning in and fluttering his eyes shut like he’s expecting them to kiss but Calum can’t, not yet.

“Luke,” Calum breathes, stopping Luke.

“What’s wrong, Cal?”

“I can’t kiss you,” Calum says. “Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Remember that day, after we finished watching _The Little Mermaid_? And you asked me if merpeople can turn human? They can, but only if they—”

“If they kiss one,” Luke finishes. “Oh, I get it. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to force you into anything.”

“It’s not your fault. One day I will, though. One day we’ll kiss and I’ll become human and we can spend the rest of our lives together,” Calum says. “I promise.”

“Cal…” Luke says. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to,” Calum persists. “I love you.”

 

**& &&&&&&&**

 

Luke and Calum rejoin each other every day for as long as they can while Luke is back. Luke has no movie to watch but he brings his guitar every single day, and he plays it for Calum, a different song each time.

Eventually he hands the guitar to Calum’s soaking wet hands, dries them off with his shirt, and teaches Calum how to play.

Calum’s favorite part is when Luke gets behind Calum and wraps his arms and hands around his to show him.

Luke teaches Calum all about music and all about the human world. Calum brings Luke the shell that his sister uses to brush through her hair and Luke is fascinated at the design.  

It’s Luke’s last day. And Calum’s not going to let him go like he did last time.

Michael, Mali, and his parents all come up with him the last time he’ll ever surface. Luke greets Mali and Michael as his old friends, and compliments Michael’s tail color. Michael tells him that “Calum picked it out, said it matches your eyes,” and both Luke and Calum smile to each other softly.

His parents love Luke, Calum can tell. Luke is so friendly to them and treats them exactly how he treats Mali, with respect and dignity and Calum thinks he falls in love a little bit more.

“I’m transferring to Melbourne University next year,” Luke says to Calum.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that soon, I’m going to live here, right here,” Luke says. Calum wants to kiss him in that moment.

“Really?” Calum asks, his face lighting up.

“Really.”

Calum turns around and looks Michael directly in the eye. “Stop tinting your tail. Soon you’ll have nothing left on it to tint.”

Michael laughs but Calum can see that he’s crying.

“I’m gonna miss you, Cal,” Michael says. “I’m gonna miss you so much.”

Calum pulls him into the tightest hug either of them have ever received. Michael wipes a tear from his eyes.

“You be safe out there,” Mali instructs him. “The human world is dangerous.”

“I will. I have Luke to guide me,” Calum says, smiling back at Luke, who beams.

“I know. I love you, Calum,” Mali says as she gives Calum a kiss on his forehead.

His parents are next and both of them are already crying, silent tears streaking down their cheeks as they smile at him. Calum promises to come and see them as often as he can. He says that he’ll always be down here at this exact time every day he can. If they ever forget, Michael will always remember.

He hugs them both.

“Remember, none of you can kiss me after this,” Calum says. “Unless you want to turn, too.”

Michael actually laughs.

“Ready, Cal?” Luke asks.

Calum turns around and nods, a tear falling from his eye. Luke wipes it away with his hand, both of them holding his cheeks.

“Not exactly how I pictured us kissing, with my family and Michael all watching us, crying,” Calum jokes, and Luke needs to take a second to laugh.

“I love you,” Luke says to him.

Calum nods. “I love you, too.”

His eyes close and his lips part.

**Author's Note:**

> like usual, come talk to me about this fic on [my tumblr](http://drcpdead.tumblr.com) !! please give me feedback u have no idea how much i appreciate it honestly


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